Beyond The Beacon
Join Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., as they discuss current events and topics relevant to the local Church in Paterson and the global Catholic Church. Bishop Sweeney answers questions from listeners, interviews guests, and shares reflections and insights helpful for all striving to live a life of faith, hope, and love.
Episodes
"Go forth, the Mass is ended!" Deacons get the last word at Mass, and they have a unique role in the faith life of the Catholic Church. You might hear them proclaiming the gospel or preaching the homily. Deacons assist with Communion and can perform baptisms and witness marriages.
Deacon Bill Ruane and Deacon Peter Cistaro join Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish for episode 68 of Beyond The Beacon...
Any Catholic deeply involved in the pro-life movement has likely attended a March for Life in Washington, D.C. during its 50-year history. For those in New Jersey, the movement is coming to the Garden State on Sept. 26 in Trenton for the first time.
Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, is the guest of Beyond The Beacon episode 67. She discusses her commitment to the pro...
Dr. Peter Kilpatrick, the president of The Catholic University of America, joins Bishop Kevin Sweeney to discuss the challenges of leading a Catholic university in an increasingly secularized culture. Born a Methodist, he also talks about his faith journey, which led him to become Catholic after becoming a father. Kilpatrick discusses his diverse career path which wound through Illinois Institute of Technology and the...
El Padre Dailon Lisabet es oriundo de Cuba y emigro a los EE.UU. cuando tenia 19 años. Llego a Nueva Jersey, donde fue ordenado sacerdote para la Diocesis de Paterson en el 2019. Las semillas de su llamado al sacerdocio comenzaron a germinar cuando aun era un dolescente, en Cuba. Alli establecio una mision para niños pobres a traves de su parroquia y condujo a muchos al bautismo. Ahora el P. Dailon se prepara para reg...
Father Dailon Lisabet left Cuba for the United States when he was 19 years old and found his way to New Jersey where he was ordained a priest of the diocese in 2019. In many ways, the seeds of his priestly calling began as a teenager in Cuba where he established a mission to impoverished children through his church and led many youths to be baptized. Now Father Dailon is set to return to his home country as a mission ...
Bishop Kevin Sweeney tours the diocesan archives for the first time in a special simulpodcast episode of Beyond The Beacon and Coffee with Kupke. With the help of historian, archivist, and pastor Msgr. Ray Kupke, the bishop unearths some of the oldest treasures of the diocese. These include vintage mitres worn by Bishop James Navagh, Bishop Thomas Aloysius Boland’s desk calendar from 1948, the deed to St. Vincent Mart...
On Beyond The Beacon episode 62, meet two couples, who recently returned from the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Ind. Dr. Tobi and Anne Ippolito, who are parents of three grown children, are parishioners of Holy Family Church in Florham Park. Tobi is currently a diaconate candidate, Anne is a master’s of theology student and they have classes together at Seton Hall University.
Also joining ar...
Each of our guests is a priest. One is a doctor and educator, another a future immigration lawyer, and the other has a heart for social justice at the border, on death row, on the streets, and in his suburban backyard. They are Father Chris VanHaight, O.F.M., Father Matthew Pravetz, O.F.M., and Father Emmet Murphy, O.F.M. These Franciscan friars have traveled diverse paths and currently live and work in the Diocese of...
Where are you going?
In Latin, it translates to “Quo Vadis” and in Beyond The Beacon episode 60 learn what that means as we travel again on location to Shiloh Bible Camp in West Milford, N.J. for the 2024 Quo Vadis discernment retreat.
Bishop Kevin Sweeney interviews six young men on the retreat from several parishes in the diocese: Rory Lago, Assumption Parish in Morristown; Juan Real and Jacob Gonzalez, both from O...
Former Major League Baseball pitcher and Paterson native Michael Jackson shares his remarkable story of making the big leagues, overcoming addiction, and going on to assist others as a counselor. Also joining Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish for this important conversation about healing and recovery is Angela Nikolovski, executive director of Straight and Narrow of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J...
Paulist Father Tom Gibbons, a New Jersey native, joins Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Jai Agnish to discuss ministering in Hollywood while producing and directing films of his own with Paulist Productions. His new documentary "Hollywood Priest: The Story of Fr. 'Bud' Kieser" is an entertaining, provocative, and nostalgic chronicle of a visionary who recognized early on the potential of television and ...
On Beyond the Beacon episode 57, co-founder of Good Counsel Homes Christopher Bell speaks about the pro-life efforts of he and his wife Joan Andrews Bell for nearly 40 years. Joan is a legendary advocate for life, recently sentenced to 27 months in prison for her involvement in a “rescue” at a Washington, D.C. abortion clinic. Also in the conversation with Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Cecile Pagliarulo, Bell discusses Lum...
“Teach a sister, touch the world!” This is the motto of Assumption College for Sisters, an accredited college sponsored by the Sisters of Christian Charity (SCC), which educates religious sisters called to consecrated life from the Paterson Diocese and around the world.
On episode 56, Beyond The Beacon hits the road again, recording on location on the Morris Catholic High School campus in Denville, where this one-of-a...
Two priests join Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish to discuss what life is like as chaplains for the United States Armed Forces. Bishop Kevin also offers a special Memorial Day blessing.
Guests Father Michael Parisi and Father Matt Pawlikowski have over 50 years of combined military service. Father Parisi was commissioned in the Navy Chaplain Corps in 1988 where he served in various capacities, including hi...
Seven students from Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta discuss producing their podcast, technology and the impact of artificial intelligence, leading spiritual retreats, and their student-led Bible study.
Accompanied by Father John Calabro, chaplain and teacher at Pope John, and Brian Carlson, faculty adviser and chair of the business department, the nine guests joined Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Ja...
While every Catholic pilgrimage site offers a journey of spiritual wonder, the mission of a Lourdes pilgrimage is specific: bringing love and healing to the sick.
On Beyond the Beacon episode 53, Bishop Kevin Sweeney discusses with Jai Agnish, diocesan communications director, his recent pilgrimage to Lourdes, France with the Order of Malta. In 1858, the Blessed Mother appeared on 18 occasions to Bernadette S...
Sometimes, when a man and a woman enter a marriage with the best of intentions, it may still end badly. Thankfully, the Catholic Church has a process to determine if a marriage that ended badly may be declared invalid. The process is called an annulment.
On Beyond the Beacon’s 52nd episode, Father Marc Mancini, judicial vicar of the Paterson Diocese, joins Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish...
What is the right age for confirmation? Why was my priest assigned to a different parish? Should parish pastoral councils be mandatory? Is it OK to wash the feet of people in jail? Bishop Kevin Sweeney responds to these questions, critiques, and more in an episode dedicated entirely to feedback from our viewers, listeners, and social media community. Jai Agnish and Cecile Pagliarulo take turns putting these questions ...
What role does faith play when building friendships?
This week on Beyond the Beacon’s 50th episode, a group of students, along with Colette Geraghty, campus minister, from Villa Walsh Academy (VWA) in Morristown, join Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Cecile Pagliarulo to discuss how faith can influence our choice in friends.
The students, a mix of sophomores and seniors from VWA, served by the Religious...
The Easter Season is an opportunity to renew our baptismal promises and recommit ourselves to Christ. For episode 49 of Beyond The Beacon, Bishop Kevin Sweeney reflects on the significance of Holy Week. Learn what it's like to experience Holy Week from the perspective of a bishop. As a bonus, discover what Bishop Kevin's favorite Holy Week Mass or service is.
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